The Australian Open is always a difficult one to call with it being the first Grand Slam of the season. Keeping up with it also brings its challenges but is also why we love it.
Action gets under way at midnight on Saturday (UK) and there are many first-round matchups to look forward to. We break it all down below.
Félix Auger-Aliassime
Auger-Aliassime reached the quarter-finals Down Under in 2022, going out to eventual runner-up Daniil Medvedev in five tight sets. The 25-year-old Canadian, who is the ninth seed this year, is back inside the top 10 and one of the contenders looking to break the chokehold Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have on the ATP Tour. Nuno Borges is the seventh seed’s opening-round opponent in Melbourne.
Ben Shelton
Shelton loves it in Australia. The American world No 9 made the quarter-finals on his debut in 2023, third round in 2024 – then ranked 16th in the world – and the semi-finals as the 21st seed last year going down to defending champion Sinner. Shelton, seeded eighth this year, gets his AO campaign under way against fellow lefty Ugo Humbert.
Frances Tiafoe
Tiafoe enters the first Grand Slam of the year in unfamiliar territory. Prior to ending last season 30th in the world, the American was a certified top-20 player for three consecutive years and cracked the top 10 in that period. With a new team in tow, Big Foe, seeded 29th, is on a mission to climb up the rankings and starts against Australian qualifier Jason Kubler.
Gabriel Diallo
Diallo is making his second main-draw appearance in Australia and is a genuine threat to any opponent he comes up against. Last season was the Canadian’s most successful to date in terms of ranking and title triumphs – reached a career high 33 in the world and won his first ATP Tour crown in 's-Hertogenbosch. Third seed Alexander Zverev, Diallo’s first-round opponent, could be the first seed to fall.
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard
Mpetshi Perricard is someone no player wants to see in their section. The 22-year-old giant from France is making his second appearance in the main draw and will be looking to register a victory for the first time at the opening major of the year following his first-round, five-set defeat at the hands of Gaël Monfils last season. Sebastián Baez awaits in round one.
Gaël Monfils
Monfils, embarking on his final season on tour, will be looking to wow the crowds in Australia one last time. This will be his 20th appearance which feels like a nice number to end on for La Monf who is a two-time quarter-finalist. Australian qualifier Dane Sweeny will provide a stern test for the Frenchman who will have a healthy number of supporters in the crowd despite playing a home favourite.
Elias Ymer
Ymer came through three tough matches in qualifying to book his place in the main draw for the first time since 2021. The 29-year-old Swede is walking with “the word” Down Under, taking inspiration from Luke 1:37: “For with God, nothing shall be impossible.” And so has proved to be the case so far in Melbourne for Ymer who plays Alexander Shevchenko in the first round.
Coco Gauff
Gauff knows what going deep in Australia looks like after reaching the quarter-finals last season and the semis in 2024. At 21 years old, the American is already a two-time Grand Slam champion and just two majors away from completing the career slam (winning all four) after her French Open triumph last year following her US Open victory in 2023. The American third seed kicks off her campaign against Kamilla Rakhimova.
Jasmine Paolini
Paolini, 2024’s surprise package, is now an established member of the WTA top 10. Australia was where it all started for the Italian No 1 that year after she made it to the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time. The seventh seed, who turned 30 earlier this month, reached the third round last year and will have her sights set on going deeper this time around as she starts her campaign against qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
Madison Keys
Keys, the defending champion, is making her 12th main-draw appearance in Australia. Speaking during her pre-tournament press conference, Keys said: “One of my big goals this year is to force myself to be a little bit uncomfortable on court.” That was the case for Keys’ run to the title last year, especially in the latter rounds. Oleksandra Oliynykova will be the American ninth seed’s opening-round opponent.
Naomi Osaka
Osaka is another player that knows how it feels to win Down Under. Two of Osaka’s four Grand Slam crowns have come in Australia – in 2019 and 2021. Since then, and returning from maternity leave, Osaka has two third-round showings, in 2022 and 2025, and a first-round exit in 2024. A second-week run looks on the cards for the 16th seed who starts against Antonia Ruzic.
Victoria Mboko
Mboko has everybody talking after her breakout season last year. The 19-year-old has picked up from where she left off in 2025, reaching the final in Adelaide – her first at WTA 500 level. Like last year at the US Open, the Canadian will be making her debut in Australia as a seeded player (17). Australian wildcard Emerson Jones will be the teenager’s first-round challenger.
Hailey Baptiste
Baptiste is making her second appearance Down Under after her main-draw debut last year. The 24-year-old was unable to make it past the first round, which was a theme throughout the Grand Slams in 2025…do not be surprised if Baptiste’s fortunes at the majors change this year in Australia where she faces 32nd seed Marketa Vondrousova in the first round.
Alycia Parks
Parks is in the main draw in Australia as a direct entrant for the first time. In 2024 the American reached the third round on her debut – losing to compatriot Coco Gauff. To date that is Parks’ best result at a major which bodes well for the talented 25-year-old. A potential popcorn match against Alexandra Eala is one to look out for in the first round.
Sloane Stephens
Stephens, a whole Grand Slam champion, made her way through qualifying to secure a spot in the main draw. The 32-year-old is searching for her first main-draw victory since Wimbledon in 2024 after missing the majority of last season due to injury – she only played five events. Karonlina Pliskova awaits in the first round for the 2013 semi-finalist.
Venus Williams
Williams, a justified wildcard, will become the oldest woman to compete in the main draw at 45 years of age. The two-time Australian Open finalist and seven-time Grand Slam champion, will be making her 21st appearance. Williams started her season in Auckland then moved on to Hobart before arriving in Melbourne. Olga Danilovic is her first-round opponent.